Headline News   

 

  Leader

    Wanted: $7.2 million a day
  

  Regulatory Outlook

    Middle East Airlines: Taking off after a bumpy ride
  

  Opinion Poll

    Green-tinted glasses, please! Gauging environmental awareness in Lebanon
  

  Sectoral Outlook

    Hitting the books in higher numbers
  

  Public Sector

    Soaring cost of health in Lebanon: Part II
  

  Private Sector

    Consumer behavior trends in the milk and ‘Turkish’ coffee markets
  

  Survey

    Poverty: A matter of definition, but which?
  

  Interview

    A Talk with Dr. Salim Al Hoss
  

  Editorial

    A Word from Us
   Current Statistics
  •  Company Activities


  Feedback

    Send us your Comments
  

  In Our Next Issue

 

 

 

 

 
   Frontpage

Issue No 4, October 2002

 

WANTED: $7.2 million a day*
Is the 2003 budget on the right track?

The 2003 draft budget has gotten off to a running start with the early approval of the draft law for the budget by the Lebanese government, paving its way forward to the Parliament.

However, is such early ratification the important financial indicator that the government claims it is? In actual fact, the parliament will not start studying the budget before the second parliamentary session that begins on October 22, 2002, and has until the end of January 2003 to approve it.

Budget Allocations

Hariri’s budget for 2003 envisages a slow-down in expenditure growth, with LL 8,520 billion ($5.6 billion) in expenditures and LL 6,400 billion ($4.2 billion) in revenues, resulting in a deficit of 24.8%. This is in comparison to the budgeted figures for 2002, which reached expenditures of LL 9,375 billion ($6.2 billion) and revenues of LL 5,500 billion ($3.6 billion), equivalent to a deficit of 41%.

The projected decrease in the budget deficit is the result of an LL 855 billion ($567 million) reduction in expenditures (equivalent to 9.1%) and an increase of LL 900 billion ($597 million) in revenues (equivalent to 16.3%). ...Full Story

 

 
 

* $7.2 million a day or LL 10,854 million equals, over a one-year period, the debt service interest of $2.65 billion or LL 4,000 billion (as stated in the 2003 draft budget).

 

 


 

Editorial/Subscription Office:
Azarieh Bldg., Riad El Solh Square,
Beirut – Lebanon
Tel: + 961-1-983008/9
Tel: + 961-3-262376
Fax: + 961-1-980630
E-mail: iimonthly@information-international.com
Web: www.information-international.com


© Information International SAL. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission from Information International SAL. No statement in this issue is to be construed as a recommendation to buy or sell assets or to provide investment advice.